Compact Digital Camera Reviews & Comparisons
Read our reviews of compact digital cameras and see how today's top-of-the-line pocket cameras make pro features more portable.
Pocket Cameras When portability is essential, nothing beats these ultracompact models  There are two types of photographs: the kind we set out with the intention to make and the kind that happen when we’re doing other things. |
Toolbox: Top Compact Cameras For candid and casual photography, today’s fixed-lens cameras offer near-SLR performance and some unique tricks all their own  In terms of sheer performance and flexibility, nothing beats a digital SLR for serious photography, but try slipping one into your pocket. There are times when it’s more important to have a camera that’s portable, speedy and nimble—when a D-SLR, for all of its benefits, is too large, heavy or conspicuous. |
Rapid Fire Casio’s Exilim EX-F1 and Exilim EX-FH20 break the speed barrier  Capturing photos at five frames per second is pretty fast. Pro SLR models can do about twice that at the top end. Then Casio released the EX-F1, with burst speeds up to 60 fps, and followed up with the higher-resolution EX-FH20, with a burst rate of up to 40 fps, making even professional SLRs seem kind of slow. But there’s a lot more to these zoom-lens cameras than mere speed. |
Buyer's Guide 2009: Best Of Compact Cameras Top-of-the-line pocket cameras make pro features more portable  The best photos are those you actually take. Chances are, you don't carry your D-SLR with you every time you leave the house, but you never know when a good photograph will present itself. That's when a compact camera that you can slip into your pocket really pays off. |
First Look: Sigma DP1 A compact digital camera with the sensor—and sensibility—of a D-SLR  Sigma is best known for its wide line of lenses, but the company has also produced a series of film and digital SLRs. Now, it has taken the big sensor from its latest D-SLR and put it into a compact digital camera body with a lens designed specifically for the sensor. The compact size and D-SLR image quality make this a great camera when you want to travel very light. |
Toolbox: Take Me With You Compact cameras offer quick shooting, easy portability and advanced features  The best camera is the one you actually take with you. It's true that for ultimate image quality and control, compact cameras can't beat digital SLRs, but advances in technology have made pocketable models a terrific alternative for many situations. We're not suggesting that you replace your D-SLR, but rather that you give yourself the option of a smaller system when size and weight matter. With sensor sizes hitting the 12-megapixel range, compacts are a great solution for occasions when a D-SLR and its various accessories would be a burden. |
10 Hot New Cameras Top technologies and features are finding their way into the whole range of digital cameras, from compacts to D-SLRs  The annual Photo Marketing Association (PMA) Show is an exciting time of year for camera enthusiasts because that's when many new models are introduced. This year's show (March 8-11) was no exception, bringing us a number of exciting new cameras with some great features. We'll look at these features and then at 10 new models that incorporate the latest digital camera technologies. |
Choosing The Right Digital Camera For You How to narrow the multitude of options? Consider your photography habits and the features you really need  The more megapixels an image contains, and the less it's compressed, the more space it takes up on a memory card. So if you shoot RAW 10-megapixel images, you'll need high-capacity memory cards: at least 1 GB (gigabyte); a 2 GB or 4 GB card is even better. |
Short Report: Olympus C-8080 This new 8-megapixel camera is feature-rich  Olympus has designed a fine camera in the new 8-megapixel C-8080. After shooting with it for a while, I found the camera to be well worth considering, even if you don't need the added megapixels, just because of the rich feature set it offers. |
